Apple WWDC Thoughts

I will admit up front that I only know snippets about today’s WWDC Keynote and the announcements. Work being what it is, I was only able to follow announcements via live-update tweet feeds like Endgaget, CNN and the like, instead of dedicate a solid two hours to watch a live stream. Short of that full viewing, here are my thoughts on what I was able to catch from the feeds…

New Computers
Kind of “meh,” not because I don’t think they are any kind awesome – the streamlined MacBook Pro actually looks kind of interesting (More power in a slightly smaller size, as heavy duty as the Pro line is supposed to be? Worth looking at… looks like they’re trying to work the Pro line towards matching the Airs.) Speaking of which – new Airs coming out with 512 GB storage? Yes, please! (Ye olde adage from my father: when it comes to storage space, get as much as you can at a given time… it’s easier to have the extra space and not need it for a while then it is to go small and then run out of space so fast you need to drop more money to upgrade after the fact.) I’m not in a position to need a new computer (and if I did absolutely have to have one, as long as my Air is still kicking, it would be an iMac – strictly for the ports and beefier system and hard drive (for video capture projects and processing, really, which isn’t as pressing an issue at the moment), so while I can oogle the new shiny, since the upgrades were really only about the laptop lines, it’s quite easy for me to make my save vs. new shiny tech on this one.

OSX – Mountain Lion
I noticed the preview on the main Apple page a couple of months ago, and I’ve been looking forward to seeing more. The upgrade will only be $20 when it goes live in July, and the added iCloud/iOS integration features are a huge step towards continuity of devices, which is part of the problem I have had with so many tech/organizational tools in the past. I’m sure there are going to be a couple of features I will have to toggle with (not sure if I really want Game Center to be active, and I will need to become intimately familiar with some of the notification features so I can flip them off when I am trying to bash out a huge word count and turn them back on (maybe) when I’m done.

iOS 6
This was sort-of an expectation. Rumors were flying about a possible iPhone 5 making an appearance today (although there were more people lately leaning towards a fall release), but with the announcement of iOS 6 there is a fairly strong bet that new phone hardware is on the horizon. What I like from what I saw: the new Maps feature, Siri for iPad (if you have a 3rd Generation), FaceTime over Cellular (really only viable if you have an unlimited data plan, but it’s a nice option to have). What’s not so hot (to me): deep Facebook integration, and that the upgrade won’t work on 1st Generation iPads.

Right, so generally I like what I saw, but think there will definitely be some settings to be played with on the OS side when they come out. If you followed the event, what are your thoughts?